Via JMG: USMC Commandant: Religious Soldiers May Be Granted Separate Housing From Gays

USMC Commandant James Conway says that homo-fearing religious Marines may be granted separate barracks should DADT be repealed.

Conway suggested that if the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law is repealed, the Marines may consider allowing Marines not to share quarters with homosexuals. Conway said the Marines may make such housing arrangements "voluntary" to accommodate any "moral concerns." He said many Marines are "very religious" and because of their moral concerns "don’t want to room" with homosexuals. But Conway stressed that if the law is repealed, the Marines would take the lead in implementing it. "We cannot be seen as dragging our feet. We've got two wars to fight. We'll implement it and move on," said Conway.

The last time this came up, the Pentagon claimed that they had only been considering adding shower curtains in barracks bathrooms.

Labels: DADT, dumbassery, military, USMC

reposted from Joe

Classic John Stewart

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via Courage Campaign California

Dear Daniel --

Honestly, I'm offended by Meg Whitman.

Ninety years ago this August, women won the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally ratified in 1920.

I take that right seriously. Meg Whitman doesn't.

Whitman wants to be governor of California. But she has rarely voted in three decades. Shouldn't our next governor show more respect for our right to vote -- and for the struggles that earned women the right to vote?

That's why the Courage Campaign is joining the California Nurses Association to send a message to Meg Whitman about the voting rights she took for granted. On Thursday, August 26, nurses and activists from across California will travel to Sacramento for a rally celebrating women's right to vote. Many will take a train to Sacramento, honoring the suffragist movement and their success, and dressing in costumes from the suffragist era.

Even if you can't join the rally, you can still help us send a message to Meg. Click here to watch our video about how Meg Whitman has taken the 19th Amendment for granted. Then sign up to Vote-By-Mail -- the most reliable method of voting in every election. Show that you'll stand up for voting rights, even if Meg Whitman won't:

Suffragists fought for decades to win the right to vote. They faced sexism, violence, and other obstacles in their effort to secure equal rights.

Ninety years later, full equality still eludes us. Many women are denied the right to marry the person they love. Others lack health care services, education, and jobs.

Meg Whitman supports Prop 8. She pledges to cut public funding for health care and education. She's already promised mass layoffs if she becomes governor, just as she did at eBay. And she can't even be bothered to exercise that most basic of rights -- the right to vote.

That's why the Courage Campaign and the California Nurses Association created this video to hold Meg Whitman accountable for her deplorable voting record. Please watch our video and then apply to Vote-By-Mail -- it's the most effective way to stand up for voting rights today:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/VoteByMail

Thank you for showing Meg Whitman that you take women's rights seriously.

Sarah Callahan
Chief Operating Officer, Courage Campaign   

Courage Campaign California is a part of the Courage Campaign's multi-issue online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. Supported by thousands of small donations from our diverse community, Courage Campaign California holds politicians accountable to progressive values, works for fundamental reform to our state's broken government, and trains and organizes activists to change their communities.

To power this campaign today, please chip in what you can:

Via JMG: Gay And Palestinian

The BBC's Weekend World program takes a look at the plight of gay Palestinians, some of whom escape torture and imprisonment by fleeing into Israel, only to face deportation back to their side of the fence should they be discovered.

Labels: gay youth, Israel, LGBT rights, Palestine

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Bigotry Special at Target

Via JMG: California Legislature Approves Joint Resolution Calling For Repeal Of DOMA

Via press release from Equality California:

Today, the California State Senate approved a joint resolution, AJR 19, calling on the U.S. Congress and President Obama to immediately repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which explicitly forbids the federal government or any federal agency from recognizing state-sanctioned marriages between same-sex couples. Introduced by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D - Santa Monica) and sponsored by Equality California, the joint resolution was passed by a bipartisan vote of 22-12.

“The Defense of Marriage Act prevents the federal government from recognizing the relationships of loving same-sex couples, even when the states where they live recognize their relationships,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “We’re proud of the California legislature for making the state’s opposition to DOMA official state policy. Now we must overturn this discriminatory federal law and pave the way for the marriages of same-sex couples to be recognized at the federal level.”

Labels: California, DOMA, LGBT rights, marriage equality

reposted from Joe